Combination reading desk and bookcase



sept 13, 1932.

J. s. IRWIN 1,876,681 COMBINATION READING DESK' 'AND BOOKCASE Filed'Feb. 17. 1931 WMS/#W 1 5.1 device which' is supportable,

Patented slept. 13, 1932 JoHN srAMivr IRWINforFJAoKsoN HEIGHTS,'NEWLYonK Applicatiolfniea February 17, 1931.1 ser-iai 'N'o 516,347.

This invention relates tola combination bookcase and reading table.

An; objectV ofthe .invention Y is toprovide a artistic-'lookingfandfvvilldtake `up a .minimumg of floor space f when not inV use. .p

Afurther. lobj ect is to provi/de such ade- .vice provided vvithf an.extension shelf to vsup- .110., port a plurality of books thereon,capable. of .fextendingin'lfront .of a..'chair. or Vlounge or "similarseat, vvhile :the vbookcase is disposed x adj-acentthe reader. v v

' further Aobject is .to provide simple-.and

11135. elicient means vvherebytheshelfv may bedisposed to extendindifferent" directions from.

the bookcase. K iA still further Object is to provide simple"andleficient ineans'v'vherebylthe reading shelf 1420""01" tablecanbe^readily removed from the bookcase and supported'therefrom,f= outof.

` it to extendplaterally; from thefbookcasein sight, When not in use.

Further and more specific .Objects7 features and advantages Will moreclearly appear from '=f25 a vconsideration of the specifications herein-'after taken in connection Withthe accom- 1 a Abevelled..acleatY 'or'asimilar` supporting ele panying dravvinglfvvhich" forms` part ofthevspecification 'and which illustrates yaf present@` -rear face. pThis-fsupporting11element uis .'jpreferred form of the invention.

" or reclinel in Va sitting position on a couch "or"loulngev vith. abookcase closely 'adjacent "135 Lthem and vviththe books to be studiedspread tout of a convenient shelf Vor table' in" front ,f

" ofthem; thus having'the bookcase handy for 'reference to other `booksand V having the feral books'fspre'ad outin frontiof himY for`-comparisonor joint reference.y

@w The'book'case proper, isofany'suitablejdenot too heavy,

.ff of thesbookcase mayv bev ofaany1desiredshape, `but -is `preferablyvprovided. With spaced vnotched portions with inclined VsurfacesactfIn'A brief and Vgeneral terms theinvention is designed forthe useofstudents Aor readvers Whodesire to sit comfortably in a chair l' Thevbookcase is preferably greater inheig'ht than. vin length. The-top.-

ing as asupporting :surface: for-ranshelff-.or table to :be l disposedthereon. .l'lhe shelf fis.: in'vvidth equal to thei-lengthfpofg'theinclined surfacesffon; vthe top of .thefbookcaseg butin length isseveral times thelengthof the ybook- 'case4 and of l'sufficientdimensions to support .Y several`vbooksV thereon;l .when -.the booksaarey.open-in front of the reader. :The bookcaseV fon eachside'visprovided-.With cooperating ...fastening elements so' that`'either zend; of :the shelf may be fastened to thel correspondingelementsgon the bookcase to hold v.the shelf,y lin place and permittingthegmaj orportioir of one. direction or. thev other,v depending upon-sigmq preferablyI not occupying 'much-1110.01" i `-space and beingprovided :Withfafplurality of-comp artments for books,l periodicals andnewspapers.

Whether the reader requiresthe bookcaseY to be disposedtovhismightxorlefty. Preferably theV shelf'vor tablei .element isprovidedvvith ment extending transversely; throu'ghzon'the adapted: tol:cooper-ate f andnengage l 'vvitlry a similar element on thefbackfvrall"10a ofithe lbookcase' soV 'that Fwhen theV shelf is'- removed :from itsoperative-position itfcadbehung vin l back` of the@ book-cased Theylength ofthe shelfand the height of 'the-bookcase "areaso,

related :th-at When the shelf is;v thus supported l in the fbackthereofr. it will be out ,of sight.

*Thusthebookcase being of relatively lightweight and .not of.7 greaterllength cantbe .readily picked. vup and carried to. any fdesiredposition, preferably being. disposed yalong a Wall', out of the Way,vvhen not. inA use; .When it is desired to useit, 1t is moved adjacentyone side or the .other of afchair .orlounge andthe shelf is thenfastened in position across the top of the bookcase to extend laterallytherefrom in a desired direction over in front of a chair or lounge sothat books may be disposed on the table element or shelf, at hand to thereader.

The invention is illustrated in the drawing, of which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the invention with the shelf in place;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the shelf as it is disposed when hung onthe back of the bookcase.

The present preferred form of the invention comprises a bookcase havingside walls 10 and 11, spaced apart by shelf elements 12, 13 and 14,providing compartments A and B,

for books, periodicals, news-papers, and the like. Preferably the uppercompartment A is used for books and the lower compartment B formagazines and larger periodicals. The height of the bookcase isconsiderably greater than the length between walls 10 and 11. It will benoticed that the top portion of the wall members 10 and 11 are providedwith a notch 15 and rearwardly inclined surfaces 16. This notch portiontogether with the rearwardly inclined surface forms a support for ashelf 17. This shelf preferably having bottom and lateral flanges 18 and19. The shelf 17 is preferably two or three times as long as thebookcase. The ends of the shelf are provided with hook elements 2O whichare adapted to engage respectively with corresponding eye portions 21which are disposed on the outside of the walls 11 and 10 .near the notchportions 15. In this manner the shelf 17 can be disposed on top of thebookcase and fastened to extend laterally therefrom in one direction orthe other, as shown in Fig. 1. On this shelf one or more books may bespread out for study and examination at the same time.

This laterally'extending shelf on the top of the bookcase will permitthe reader to sit in a chair or in a reclining position on a lounge andstudy, while having a port-able bookcase disposed adjacent him for readyreference. After the reader is finished the books are restored to theirproper shelf, and the hook 2O is released and the shelf 1'? can beremoved from the top of the bookcase. The shelf at its rear surface isprovided with a bevelled cleat 22 adapted to cooperate with a similarbevelled cleat on the back 10a of the bookcase as shown in Fig. 3. Thiscooperation will permit the shelf to be supported in backV of thebookcase when not in use, and thus dispose it compactly ready for use,out of sight, especially when the bookcase is moved to a position alonga wall, out of the way.

It will thus be seen that the invention afbookcase and reading tablereadily portable to any position adjacent a lounge or chair with thebooks available for ready reference, and those in use disposed handilyon the shelf in front of the reader. The table element or shelf can bequickly placed in position or removed therefrom and when not in use canbe disposed out of sight on the back of the bookcase, and the bookcasemoved to a convenient position out of the way.

Vhile the invention has been described in detail and with respect to apresent preferred form thereof it is not to be limited to such detailsand forms since many changes and modifications may be made in theinvention without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionin Vits broadest aspects. Hence it is desired to cover any and all formsand modifications of the invention which may come within the language orscope of any one or more of the appended claims.

What is claimed is 1. A combination reading desk and bookcase whichcomprises a bookcase unit, a shelf detachably disposed thereon, bevelledcleats on the back of the shelf and the unit to engage and support theshelfvertically in back of and from the unit when not in use.

2. A combination'reading desk and bookcase which comprises a bookcaseunit having notched portions at the top thereof forming rearwardly andupwardly inclined surfaces, a shelf disposable in said notched portionsand against said surfaces and of a length to extend laterally from theunit over a chair or lounge.

3. A combination reading desk and bookcase which comprises a bookcaseunit having notched portions at the top thereof forming rearwardly andupwardly inclined surfaces, a shelf disposable in said notched portionsand against said surfaces and of a length to extend laterally from theunit over a chair or lounge, and means on the unit and shelf tocooperatively engage to hold the shelf in position on the top of theunit.

4f. A combination reading desk and bookcase which comprises a bookcaseunit having notched portions at the top thereof forming rearwardly andupwardly inclined surfaces,

.a shelf disposable in said notched portions and against said surfacesand of a length to extend laterally from the unit over a chair orlounge, and means on the unit and shelf to cooperatively engage to holdthe shelf in position on the topof the unit, and means on each side ofthe unit and each end of the shelf to respectively engage to hold theshelf in position to extend laterally from the unit in one direction oropposite.

5. A combination reading desk and bookcase which comprises a bookcaseunit, the upper portion of which is provided with a notch portionforming rearwardly and upwardly inclined surfaces, a fastening elementon each side of the unit adjacent the notched portion, a flanged shelfdisposable in said notched portion, and means on each end of the shelfto engage the respective fastening '6; elements on the unit to hold theshelf in position to extend laterally from the unit in either direction.Y

Signed at Jackson Heights, N. Y., in the county of Queens and State ofNew York l0 this 13th day of February, A. D. 1931.

JOHN STAMM IRWIN.

